In the Absence (2018)

It's hard to write a review about this but I feel obliged to because it's such a heartbreaking tragedy and shouldn't be forgotten.

On 16 April 2014 the ferry 'Sewol' sank on it's way to Jeju Island and 304 people (mostly students) died. They were given instructions to stay put and don't move from where they are even when the ship was tilting. The captain who is supposed to leave a sinking ship last and responsible for the safety of passengers left the ferry and was rescued when more than half of the passengers were still on board...

This documentary includes recorded conversations between Coast Guard and President Office for example which sent shivers down my spine. In just 29 minutes this documentary portrays openly what went wrong and let survivors, helpers and victims relatives speak. There's footage from students who were still on the ferry when it already tilts to the side and footage from dash cams in the ferry that show vehicles moving sideways inside the ferry like they weight nothing. This beside the interviews with the civilian divers who searched for bodies and interviews with parents of victims leaves a huge depressing impression. It surely isn't easy to watch for the soft hearted but I prefer the brutal truth over all the lies that were told about this tragedy. Media reported that all passengers were rescued when in truth it was well known that over 290 people were missing. Almost 3 years after the ferry sank they brought it back up and retrieved things such as cell phones and searched for the still missing bodies of 9 people.

2019 had marked the 5th anniversary of this tragedy and this documentary might once again rise awareness with its nomination for the Oscars 2020 and even if it didn't win the award I like the symbolism. I recommend this to everyone who is interested in background information about this tragedy and its aftermath.

The documentary was posted on Youtube by 'The New Yorker' under the title "What Went Wrong in the South Korean Ferry Disaster? | The New Yorker". I'll post the link in the comments.

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